It's Greek to Me...

Joel and I are studying Greek. This is quite hilarious at times. Due to the fact that I've home schooled for over 20 years and have done grammar 100's of times, I am quite able to figure out the grammatical portions of the new language. Joel on the other hand, who can't even get the 24 letter alphabet in order 2 times in a row, wants to pull his hair out with the grammar. Does the preposition end with the nu or the omicron?? Maybe it's not a preposition at all...maybe it's an epsilon. No it can't be an epsilon, that's a letter in the alphabet, not a part of speech. And on and on it goes. Then when we get to the vocabulary portion, I'm the one who wants to pull her hair out. You can tell me that arneomai means to repudiate, but if you don't know what repudiate means, then it is of no value. We are quite the team. I tell him the part of speech and how the word functions in a sentence and he tells me what the word means. I love the way God fills in my weak areas with Joel's strengths and vice versa. It really has been fun, but an incredible challenge as well. These old dogs don't want to learn any new tricks. The best part of it is that we are doing it together. The older we get, the more precious this time becomes.

Basking in the Sun

Jason is the son that is most like his dad when it comes to being spontaneous, carefree, and quick witted. This quality in his dad was a gift to one who attempts to be overly organized and plans to the smallest detail, but this quality in a son at times was just plain exhausting. But now that Jason is older and touring the states with his bass, his Bible, and hopefully an extra pair of boxers, it has become a source of joy in my life. He randomly calls me from places I have never seen nor usually heard of. Just the other day, while we were enjoying the effects of a cold front and 3" hail stones pelting every car we own, he calls from Southern California. He had been basking on the beach and wanted to make sure that he shared his little bit of sunshine with his mother. Some would say that he wanted to gloat or remind me how wonderful his life is, while I continue to deal with the drudgeries of laundry and chores; but I beg to differ. I think he called so I would smile. I cheerfully reminded him that soon I would be basking in the sun of Daytona Beach while he will be shivering in the wet cold of Washington State and Oregon. I love to hear of his travels. I have two sons that are mostly far from me these days, but they know that they are always near to my heart. There were times when I thought I had failed as a mother and that Jeff would be so disappointed in the job that he had left me to do, but now I know otherwise. I'm excited for Jason and I will always love the fact that he lives his life and doesn't stand on the sidelines just watching the game.

Maybe, Maybe Not

I was so excited to hear from Brandon today. It is few and far between when we actually get to hear his voice. He is excited to be counting down the days to graduation and I'm looking forward to actually being able to see him. While on the phone I asked a lot of questions because I stay very confused most of the time when it comes to his military commitment. Here is my understanding of things as they are now, but if you know anything about the military then you probably know that "maybe" this will happen, and "maybe not". On May 1st, Brandon will graduate at Fort Benning, Georgia from Army Basic Training. From there he will be allowed to spend about 10 days with us here in Texas. We will leave on the 12th of May to move him to D.C. His orders are to report by May 20th. We will stop along the way for the graduation of Brian, this is the husband of my niece, Loren, from Marine Basic Training. Brandon & Loren have been close friends since birth and therefore, Brian is very important to him as well. He is really looking forward to being able to be there for his graduation. I refer to them as Todd & Copper from the "Fox and the Hound." They became friends before they new they were expected to be enemies. They will pretend to act as their branch of the military expects until they are alone, then they will go back to being friends instead of rivals. HaHa! Brandon's base is located in Virginia, just 20 minutes from where Brian and Loren live. He will report in D.C., but live in VA. This couldn't have been more perfect for Brandon. He is really looking forward to being so close to his two closest friends. Brandon will stay with Loren & Brian until the 17th of May, then he will report to his base. This is 3 days early, but it saves him some vacation days for in the future and vacation days are precious to our soldiers. While in D.C., Brandon will continue his education. He will complete is Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice/Sociology and then start on his Master's Degree. While attending school he will be training in other areas for the military. His plan is to train in Combat Diving and Airborne. He loves diving under water and in the air, so both of these are perfect for him. He is very excited to be given the D.C. assignment. He will be responsible for protecting the capitol of our great country until further notice. It is such an honor to have my son serve this nation so that I may be free.